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[Êàðòèíêà: img_8]

The kitten curled up at the back of the carrier. Hopefully she would be safe in here. Everything outside was strange and different. She couldn’t hear the noises she was used to – her brother and sister, the cats in the pens close by, even dogs a bit further away. There were no familiar smells either. She couldn’t smell any other cats at all. She didn’t remember being the only cat, not ever.

She didn’t like it. When she’d been put in the carrier she’d hoped to find her brother and sister again. They had disappeared a couple of days earlier, and the black-and-white kitten had been waiting anxiously for them to come back. She was sure they weren’t here though, she would have smelled them.

She pressed herself tighter against the back wall of the carrier, listening to the noises around. There were heavy footsteps, and lighter ones, and voices.

“Can’t we get her out?”

“I think we should leave it to her. She’s scared, Amina. You would be too. She’s only little.”

“I know… But it’s been ages. I want to play with her.”

“I expect she’ll come out when she’s hungry.” That was a deeper voice. “She just needs time. She was enjoying playing with us at the shelter the other day, wasn’t she, Zara? She’s a friendly little thing. She doesn’t know what’s going on right now. We don’t want to scare her anymore. Let’s put some food down and let her come out when she feels like it.”

There was a sigh and then the first voice said,“I suppose.”

The kitten’s ears twitched as she heard a familiar sound – biscuits rattling against the side of a bowl. She’d heard that noise often at the shelter, when someone brought their food. She was hungry. Still nervous, but hungry… She crept a few steps forwards and caught the scent of biscuits, just like the ones she was used to.

“Just sit back a bit, girls. Give her a chance to come out without having to get too close.”

The voice sounded gentle and whoever was speaking wasn’t right up by the door of the carrier. The kitten approached the door and looked out cautiously. There were four people watching her – two girls sitting on the floor, someone else sitting by the table and another person standing up, putting away a bag that probably had the food in it. The foodsmelled so delicious. She measured the distance to the food bowl in her head. It was close – she could dart out and eat, and if anything frightening happened, she would whip straight back to the carrier where it was safe. She could feel all those eyes staring straight at her and she wasn’t sureabout it at all.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_9]

The kitten hopped out of the carrier and hurried across to the bowl, bolting down the food as fast as she could, while keeping an eye on all the people in the room. They were still staring but they didn’t move and no one tried to grab her. The kitten began to relax, eating more slowly. At last, she finished the bowl of biscuits, licking up the crumbs and sniffing around hopefully in case there was more. But the bowl was definitely empty.

She sat back, eyeing the family thoughtfully and swiping a paw across her whiskers. They had fed her when she was hungry. It didn’t mean she trusted them, not yet – but it was a start. She finished cleaning her whiskers and looked at the girl she’d slept on, back at the shelter.

“Don’t stare at her,” the girl whispered to the other one, who was sitting next to her on the floor. “I don’t think she likes it.”

“How do you know?”

“I just don’t think she does. Please, Amina…”

“OK, OK.”

Both the girls looked down at the floor at exactly the same time and the kitten gave a little jump of surprise. They seemed to move in the same way, these two. Curiously she padded towards them, sniffing at their outstretched toes and then nudging the side of her chin against their feet. Both girls twitched and giggled, and the kitten darted back. But then they settled again and she went back to investigating. That big bowl of food had made her feel sleepy and she wanted to curl up somewhere soft and warm– a basket, or a lap, perhaps.

The first girl stretched out her hand and ran it very gently over the kitten’s back. That was nice. Soothing… The kitten hopped up on to her leg and kneaded at the girl’s soft skirt with her paws. There was a dip, a little hollow that looked comfy, and she settled herself into it, turning herself round and round until she was nestled into the gap between the two girls’ legs.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_4]

“I think we should call her Cola,” Amina said firmly. “Mum, don’t you think that would be a good name? She looks like a Cola.”